Steering post for cycles and the like



April 21, 1942. a? F. RAWSAT STEERING POST FOR CYCLES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 23, 1940 Fara/a '17 Elisa) INVENTOR I [Z ATTQRZES. l

Patented Apr. 21, 1942 UNlTED STTES T OFFIQE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a steering post for cycles and the like, which may be associated with a cycle frame in substantially the manner illustrated in the patents of C. E. Weaver, No. 1,364,496, dated January 4, 1921, and G. W. Clark, No. 1,994,303, dated March 12, 1935.

An object of the invention is to provide a steering post structure which is so free of any possibility of binding at the threaded locking bolt, that drawing of the bolt to a tightened condition ensures that all resultant force will be utilized where needed, to frictionally bind the post within the tubular head of the cycle frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structure of the character referred to, wherein the accidental stripping of screw threads is prevented, while at the same time preventing lateral binding or shearing forces upon the post-securing bolt.

A further object is the attainment of the foregoing advantages at a minimum of expense in performance of the manufacturing and assembling operations.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of the steerin post embodying the invention, part being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

With reference to the drawing the characters 3 and 4 indicate, respectively, the upper section and the lower section of the bi-part upright hollow post. As is customary, the upper end of the section 3 has a laterally extending supporting arm 4 including a bearing 5 in which the handle bar of the cycle is received and clamped tightly in place by means of a bolt 6. The threaded end I of the bolt may engage a threaded bore 8 formed in the extending arm or support. At the top of the upper post section 3, an enlarged hole or bore 9 is provided for loosely accommodating a long bolt II] which is utilized in a manner to be described, for fixing the steering post within the hollow stem of a steering fork of the cycle. It will be noted that the upper post section, 3 is hollow throughout the greater portion of its length, and the inner surface of its wall is indicated by the character I l.

The lower end of the upper section 3 is out or formed on an angle so as to result in an oblique surface 12. The lower post section likewise is oblique, thereby furnishing a complementary bearing surface I3 against which the surface l2 may abut and slide when the bolt I0 is rotated to elevate the lower post section.

The lower post section 4 preferably is drilled or otherwise formed to provide a bore or opening l4 coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the section, and this bore or opening preferably is of a substantially greater diameter than the diameter of bolt It. The section 4 is drilled transversely, as at 5, for the reception of a shaft It to be journaled therein for oscillation orrocking move- 7 bolt Ill will extend through the nut or shaft l6,

andvnlll be substantially coaxial with both post sections when the oblique bearing surfaces l2 and I3 arev in registry. By tightening or drawing up the bolt by means of a wrench applied to its head [9, the lower section 4' will be elevated with the result that its oblique bearing surface l3 will advance along the bearing surface l2 of the upper post section, to oiT-set the post sections relatively. It will accordingly be understood that with the post sections embraced within the confines of a hollow steering fork stem, any forceful elevating movement of the lower post section resulting from tightening the bolt II] will tend to off-set the lower post section and effect a wedging action within such stem. To reduce the possibility of rotation of the steering post within the fork stem, one or both of the post sections may be fluted or otherwise roughened for the purpose of increasing frictional contact. As herein disclosed, the lower post section only is fluted or roughened, as indicated by the character 20.

As will be understood, any off-set of the lower post section relative to the upper section 3, will result in rocking the shaft-nut l6 axially within its bearing i5, as permitted by the enlarged nature of the bore M. This self-adjusting characteristic of the nut eliminates all possibility of lateral binding of the bolt within both post sections, so that neither the threads nor the shank of the bolt will be subject to lateral binding or shearing forces. Accordingly, the major portion of any force resulting from drawing up or tightening the bolt 18, will be utilized in its entirety for establishing the off-set relationship of the post sections relatively.

A further advantage of the improved structure, resides in the facility with which the internally threaded shaft It may be replaced in the event that its threads become worn or stripped due to abuse or long usage. In this connection, it will be observed that one need only unscrew the bolt l until it becomes disassembled from the threads of the shaft l8, whereupon the shaft readily may be displaced axially from its bore I5 and replaced with a new one. The cost of the internally bored and threaded shaft I6 is negligible, so that repairs or replacements may be effected at a minimum expense. The bore or opening I4 is made larger in diameter than the bolt end, to allow suflicient lateral play when the lower post section is elevated to its off-set relationship with the upper post section. The lower section may be of the same internal diameter as the upper section if desired, as indicated at 2|. The wall of the lower section is thickened as at 22, to enable the formation of substantial bearings for the shaft It. The upper and lower post sections may be cast or forged from suitable metal, as desired.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the structural details of the device, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A steering device for cycles and the like, comprising a bi-part upright hollow post consisting of an upper section and a lower section adapted to meet along oblique complementary bearing surfaces, the upper section having a bolt opening substantially centered on the axis of the post, and a handle bar supporting arm extending from the upper portion of the upper section, a bolt extending through the bolt opening and depending through both the upper and lower sections of the post, a threaded lower end on the bolt, and an interiorly threaded nut rockingly mounted relative to the lower post section for reception of the threaded bolt end, said nut being housed within said lower post section.

2. In a steering structure of the class described, the combination of a lower hollow post section of cylindrical form having a lower end portion and an upper end cut at an angle to present an oblique ovoid bearing surface on the lower hollow post section including the whole circumference of the latter, said lower end portion being smooth-bored axially, the diameter of said smooth bore being materially greater than the diameter of a bolt to be passed therethrough, the lower end portion being smooth-bored transversely of the axial bore to provide a pair of opposed bearings, a short shaft having ends rockingly supported in the bearings, and having a threaded bore therein extending at right angles to the shaft axis, an upper cylindrical post section of hollow form having an axial bore in its upper end, the bore last mentioned being smaller in diameter than the interior diameter of the upper post section but sufficiently large to loosely accommodate the bolt aforesaid, the

lower end of the upper post section being cut transversely at an angle to provide an oblique bearing surface complementary to the bearing surface of the lower post section, and an elongated bolt having a threaded end and a headed end, the head of which bears upon the top of the upper post section about the axial bore thereof, while the threaded end engages the threaded bore of the shaft to support the lower post section for pivotal movement and shiftability of its threaded shaft and its oblique bearing surface toward and from the complementary oblique bearing surface of the upper post section.

3. A steering post structure for reception by the hollow steering fork stem of a cycle, which structure comprises in combination, a lower hollow post section of cylindrical form having a lower end portion, and an upper end cut transversely at an angle to present an oblique ovoid bearing surface, said lower end portion of the lower post section being smooth-bored, with the diameter of said smooth bore reduced to a smaller size than the interior of said post section but of materially larger size than the diameter of a bolt to be passed therethrough, the size differential between said smooth bore and the diameter of the hollow interior of the post section thereby resulting in a thickened wall at the lower end portion of said post section, said thickened wall being bored transversely of the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical lower post section, a short cylindrical shaft having ends rockingly supported in the transverse bore of said thickened wall, said shaft being bored and threaded, with the threaded bore extending at right angles to the shaft axis, an upper cylindrical post section of hollow form having an axial bore in its upper end, the bore last mentioned being smaller than the interior diameter of the upper post section but sufficiently large to loosely accommodate the bolt aforesaid, the lower end of the upper post section being cut transversely at an angle to provide an oblique bearing surface complementary to the oblique bearing surface of the lower post section, and an elongated bolt having a threaded end and a headed end, the head of which bears upon the top of the upper post section about the axial bore thereof, while the threaded end engages the threaded bore of the shaft to support the lower post section for pivotal movement limited by the size of the smooth enlarged bore that extends axially of the lower post section, rotation of the bolt serving to bodily elevate the threaded shaft and the lower post section toward the upper post section and to force into contact the complementary oblique bearing surfaces aforesaid, for the purpose described.

EWALD F. PAWSAT. 

